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The truth is, it’s probably not so risky at all. In a nutshell, the 4-Series BMW is a 3-Series with two less doors and more footprint.

That sounds like we might be over-simplifying things, but when you strip away the marketing rhetoric, that’s about the size of it.

Model proliferation is at the heart of things and it’s simply seen at boardroom level to be less confusing to add the 4-Series to the price-list than to try to differentiate the increasingly crowded 3-Series family tree.

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Physically, the 4-Series adds nothing to the current 3-Series’ wheelbase, but through wheel-rim offset and small suspension changes, there is a slightly wider track (the distance between left and right wheels) front and rear.

There’s less front and rear overhang, too, for a sportier look and there’s an extra strut in the front suspension to stiffen things.

Centre of gravity is lower, overall weight is slightly reduced, height is a smidgeon lower and the drag co-efficient is a slippery 0.28. Oh, and the widest point of the 4-Series is now the outside edge of the rear wheel arches for some visual clout.

It works, too, and the new car is immediately a sporty looking thing with a hunkered stance and the impression that its skin is tightly stretched over its skeleton.

Under that skin beats the heart of a 3-Series, of course.

The range – for now – kicks off with the 420d turbo-diesel with its 135kW/380Nm turbo-diesel four-cylinder (with rated fuel use at 4.6 litres per 100km) and a price-tag of $71,800.

Next step up is the 428i which gets a turbocharged four-cylinder of 2.0 litres making 180kW and 350Nm at $80,500 (6.4 litres per 100km) and the range-topper is the 435i with its turbocharged inline six-cylinder, 225kW of power and 400Nm of torque and a sticker price of $108,500 (and 7.4 litres per 100km).

All get BMW’s lauded eight-speed automatic rather than a clutchless manual, and a conventional six-speed manual transmission is a no-cost option but expected to make up only a fraction of volumes.

For many, though, the big news is a new entry-level car called the 420i which will feature a 135kW/270Nm/6.0 litres per 100km petrol four-cylinder turbo-motor and a price-tag of $69,500.

Look for it in the first quarter of 2014.

Of the cars available now, there are three trim levels starting with the overtly sporty Sport Line, then the Luxury Line and Modern Line.

The M-Sport package - which gains 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive suspension, bigger brakes, variable steering-assistance and a sports steering wheel - is optional on the range and standard on the 435i.

The only real questions remaining concern what the new car is like to drive and why it’s taken BMW two years to get the 4-Series to market to prop up sales of its 3-Series, the car that once dominated in its segment but one now outsold by the rival Mercedes-Benz C-Class.